Late to the Party
by RosalieThropp
Summary: Felicity had organized a Christmas party for Team Arrow. Oliver showed up late. Written for the Olicity Holiday Fic Exchange. One-shot.


**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. Never have and sadly, never will.

**A/N:** My first Olicity story ever, so go easy on me. Written for the Olicity Holiday Fic Exchange on Tumblr.

**My prompt was:** Small moments that would have been ignored, except they weren't/ angst.

Enjoy!

* * *

Oliver quickly descended the stairs leading from his nightclub to the foundry, pulling the knot on his tie loose before reaching for his phone.

"Digg" he called his partner as soon as he reached the last step "what was the rude text message for?"

John Diggle looked up and stared at his friend with an annoyed look.

"Ohh I'm sorry" he said, exasperated "did I ruin your night?"

"Kind of, yeah" Oliver agreed throwing his suit jacket on the back of a chair, oblivious as to what was going on "I was at the middle of a gala when you told me to bring my 'sorry ass' back to the lair"

"You're damn right I did" Diggle huffed, putting out the nine candles of the golden menorah with a simple grab of his fingers around each wick.

The action caught Oliver's attention, and taking in the decorations that adorned the otherwise clinical looking den, he closed his eyes in frustration.

"Felicity" he sighed and ran one of his hands over his short hair in distress "the…thing…the Christmas thing, I totally forgot about it".

"She put a lot of effort into this" he said as he motioned around the place, showing him the ornaments Felicity had put up "and you couldn't care enough to show up? It's freaking Christmas Eve, Oliver"

Oliver grimaced, feeling guilty.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal" he sighed "I thought she didn't even celebrate Christmas!"

Diggle grunted and Oliver realized he was in full 'overprotective brother' mode.

"Okay, sorry. Bad joke" Oliver apologized, putting his hands up in surrender.

Diggle narrowed his eyes

"She was trying to do something nice for us" he said, his voice still angry "for _you. _It's not about Christmas or Hanukkah"

Oliver gave him a confused look and Digg rolled his eyes.

"Man, you really can't see things that are right in front of your face, can you?" Digg shook his head in dissatisfaction.

"I can see…" Oliver started but closed his mouth again, taking a deep breath "I'm not stupid. I know that she's been planning this for weeks. I get it she was trying to do something nice, I do. I just…I screwed up, what can I say?"

"You could start by finding a way to make it up for her" Digg said matter-of-factly "She did work on this for weeks. We waited for you for over two hours, Oliver".

He sighed again, his heart heavy in his chest.

"Where is she now?" he questioned.

"She was headed to the airport. She had a late flight booked, she's spending the holidays at her folks. Although I'm not sure she made it in time, 'cause she was waiting for you to show up" Digg explained, trying to control the irritation in his words.

He had grown to be very overprotective of Felicity, and not even Oliver would escape his wrath if he ever hurt her.

"I already feel bad about it, Diggle. No need to make me feel more guilty" Oliver snapped.

"Good" Digg frowned "you should feel bad about it" he said sliding a neatly wrapped box across the table in his direction.

"What's this?" Oliver questioned, holding it up.

"It's for you" he clarified, rolling his eyes once more "as well as all of those" Digg pointed out a new collection of 28 aluminum carbon composite arrows, perfectly customized in green and impeccably lined up alongside his old carbon ones.

His face softened as he appreciated the way she had meticulously placed them on the shelf; he was very particular about the way he kept his archery gear, and to realize she knew exactly what his quirks were made something stir inside of him.

She knew him so well. Even the little things.

Feeling Diggle's gaze on him, Oliver turned the package around to see a small card with his name written in Felicity's faultless handwriting.

He ripped the colorful paper open to reveal a dark green picture frame holding a picture of the three of them. I was a simple picture of him, Felicity and Diggle right there on the lair. He recalled the day she took it, a few weeks back.

A warm smile spread on his lips.

"I knew she wasn't just testing her new webcam" Olive said in an almost whisper, more to himself rather than to Diggle.

The ex-military shook his head.

'Sure, he is perceptive about _that_ ' he thought to himself.

"You really screwed up, Oliver" Digg needled once more.

The blonde billionaire threw him an irritated look.

"Then why don't you give me grief about that on our way to the airport?" he asked, grabbing his jacket and heading to the stairs.

* * *

"What are you doing here, Oliver?" Felicity asked looking up from the tablet on her hands and into his bright blue eyes.

"See, the bright side of missing your flight is you're still here so I could find you" Oliver tried to joke, but it only made Felicity's eyes sparkle with irritation.

The IT girl frowned, shooting him a death glare.

"Felicity…I'm sorry" he said truthfully, taking a deep breath.

"Shouldn't you and Isabel be playing arm candy to each other at some fancy gala?" she questioned, turning her attention back at her tablet and pretending to ignore him.

Oliver sighed; he hated disappointing her like that. Seeing that hurt look on her face was something he would never get used to.

She deserved better.

"Look, I get it you're upset. I know we had plans and I was late" he tried again "but I know you ended up missing your flight so, allow me to give you a ride"

Felicity looked at him over her glasses

"A ride?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow

He gave her small smile

"I do own a private plane" he said with a shrug.

Felicity huffed and shook her head turning her attention to the tablet once more.

"Thank you, but no thank you" she said chided "You can't just buy my affection with your fancy private plane"

"That's not what I was trying to do" Oliver said, a bit hurt she'd thought he was trying to buy her "I just want you to make it in time to your parent's house"

Felicity was not amused.

"I'm in the waiting list for a flight tomorrow morning. If I stay here, they might put me in the first flight. I'll be fine " she said nonchalantly.

Oliver sighed at her stubbornness

"So…you'd rather stay here all night just so you don't have to take my offer?" he tried to reason "you'll end up missing Hanukkah"

"Well, whose fault is that?" she snapped, finally looking up at him.

But seeing the hurt look crossing his features, she immediately regretted it. Her expression never faltered, though.

"I deserved that" Oliver sighed again "please, just…let me make sure you'll get home " He half offered, half pleaded "Digg's outside in the car, he can drive us to the hangar and you'll be home in no time. The plane is all set"

"No" Felicity refused once more "and don't even try throwing me your sexy boyish smile. It won't work this time"

Oliver couldn't help the small grin that spread on his lips.

Felicity blushed five shades of red

"Damn it" she muttered under her breath.

"Felicity, please" he tried persuading her again. Oliver's hand was suddenly on hers and she finally looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. "It would mean a lot to me" he whispered, holding her gaze.

Felicity tried to refuse, but her emotions got the best of her.

He had a way of doing this. The whispering, the softness of his voice and the way his eyes looked so deeply into her. He was always so stern and in control of his emotions, but every once in a while, he'd do that; the gentle whisper, the soft touch of his hands and the warm look on his eyes.

Those moments were indeed rare, and it secretly thrilled her he seemed to save them up just for her.

And she could never resist him.

"Fine" she agreed, getting up from her spot in between the other passengers and moving towards the door.

Oliver smiled before following her.

* * *

"Sorry I missed the party" Oliver said truthfully, in the hopes of breaking the silence that had set upon them since they left the airport.

"It _wasn't _a party" Felicity sighed heavily; a little frustrated he didn't seem to understand "but it doesn't really matter anymore" she shook her head dismissively.

Oliver sighed and watched as she looked out of the plane's tiny window and into the city's lights. He knew by the way her lower lip protruded slightly that she was upset. He'd seen that expression on her face many times before; whether it was when she got word of any new rumors going around Queen Consolidated or if one of their missions had gone wrong, Oliver had taken to recognize that particular look.

And he hated it, especially if he was the one causing her such disappointment.

"It's really not about the party" Felicity insisted, breaking the silence and bringing him out of his thoughts "I was trying to do something nice. After everything we go through every day, I thought you guys would appreciate. But you didn't even remember it" her voice broke in the last words and Oliver felt his heart tighten in his chest

"I really am sorry" he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Are you really?" she questioned, unable to conceal the bitterness in her voice "Cause it really didn't seem like it. But I guess I should have known that between Isabel and I…"she rambled, but immediately stopped in the middle of the sentence, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. She hated sounding so _jealous_.

Oliver's face contorted into a grimace, guilt washing over him "Its not like that" he whispered "Isabel and I...we are business partners and it was a company party..." he tried to explain, but she cut him off.

"You don't need to justify yourself, Oliver " came Felicity's soft voice, and he looked at her apologetically. She bit her lip and sighed "It's just…between my job at Queen Consolidated and our 'night job' I barely see any of my old friends, which weren't many" she started fidgeting with one of her rings and Oliver had to fight the urge to reach out and take her hand on his "I guess you and Digg are my only friends right now and I wanted to spend some time with you guys. As friends, not as your executive assistant or the Arrow's sidekick" she sighed again and looked into his eyes "I just thought..."

Felicity swallowed a fresh wave of tears that suddenly pricked at the back of her eyes, looking away from him.

Oliver sighed loudly and shut his eyes, trying to fight the new array of emotions going through him.

"You really need to stop doing that, you know?" Felicity said, her voice a bit hoarse "you'll end up with wrinkles all over your forehead" she warned him, trying her best to dissipate the tension that had quickly set upon them.

A ghost of a smile crossed Oliver's features and finally opened his eyes again.

"What?" he questioned, confused.

Felicity grinned

"The way you shut your eyes tight like that when you're angry at yourself" she explained, pointing to the invisible lines on his forehead.

Oliver chuckled, but then became serious again

"Felicity…" he started, but she didn't let him finish.

"Are you gonna give me a speech on how sorry you are that you've ruined my life by allowing me to join your team? " she questioned knowingly "cause if you are, just know that doing so will only make me angrier at you"

She gave him a small smile and he was overwhelmed by the sense of relief that overflowed through him when she did.

"I make my own decisions, Oliver" she added, her face serious.

"Okay, fair enough" he conceded "I really am sorry, though. For not appreciating what you tried to do tonight, and especially for making you feel like you weren't important to me" he looked deeply into her eyes "because you are".

"Really?" she questioned, suddenly insecure.

He did appreciate everything she did for him and his team. From her technical support as an IT analyst, to how much she had to give up to be his executive assistant and especially the way she always cared for him. It was the little things; the softness of her touch when she patched him up, the way her eyes lit up in a smile when he came back from his night patrol, and even the times she'd just bring him a cup of coffee or a bottle of water. She was what kept him grounded and helped him balancing both his lives.

And it almost hurt him that she could even think she was not important to him.

"Really" he guaranteed "you're more than just my secretary or my computer expert. You're my friend, a part of my team, you're the one who's always there for me, making sure I'm safe. You're really irreplaceable and one of a kind, Felicity Smoak. And I'm sorry if ever made you feel otherwise" he said, really meaning it.

Felicity sighed softly and only then they realized how close to each other they really were; their breaths almost mixing, their gazes held together and the proximity of Oliver's hands near hers.

He didn't quite understand this chemistry, this spark between them. He didn't even understand what it meant or how it made him feel, he just knew it was there and it was undeniable. And interesting enough, he enjoyed it, whatever it was.

The blonde girl blushed, awkwardly looking away and resting back against her chair. Both flustered, Oliver decided to create some space between them and got up saying something about red wine.

Felicity nodded and took the time to regain her composure, trying to ignore the effect he had on her. So she was more than happy when he offered her a glass of red wine only a few moments later.

"I'm sorry I ruined Christmas Eve for you" Oliver said "I know its seems like I forgot about our plans for tonight, but I hadn't. I don't know what happened. I knew you were working very hard on this"

"And here I thought I was being discreet" Felicity confessed, taking a small sip of her wine.

"You were" he agreed; he was just the one paying too much attention to her "the arrows, I was really surprised"

"Did you like them?" she asked excitedly, and he face lit up with a smile.

"They're perfect, Felicity. Thank you" he smiled warmly at her, making her heart skip a beat.

"Good" she whispered "I just wanted you to enjoy Christmas. I know it was a thing between you and your dad when you were younger and I also know your mother and Thea are not very into Christmas so…I thought you'd like something a bit more festive"

"I did. I really did" he guaranteed. Her being this considerate really meant a lot to him.

"I'm sorry too. For ruining your Christmas eve" she apologized "I'm pretty sure you didn't put on your good suit to go on a round trip with me"

He chuckled

"Actually this is the best Christmas eve I've had in years" he said truthfully.

Felicity arched an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not marooned on a deserted island anymore" he picked up his glass of wine "and I have the best red wine and I'm with someone I can be myself with. Sounds pretty good to me" he said simply, and her eyes sparkled in delight.

They finished two bottles of wine while sharing stories about their best and worst Christmas experience, and before they knew it, they had arrived.

* * *

A/N: Thats it guys, hope I didn't disappoint my secret Olicity santa.


End file.
